Jeremy Meeks Master Class: The Perfect Mug Shot

by 5:16 PM PDT, June 20, 2014

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For better or for worse, Friday morning, the online world was captivated by Jeremy Meeks' mug shot. Despite the information that he was arrested for a serious crime and is also a convicted felon, this image swept across the internet, and in a culture that is now dominated by images, likes, and shares, going viral offers both serious ramifications and serious reflections on our society.

So why did this photograph cause so many people to either look past or accept Meeks' alleged flaws? Clearly, he is a good looking man, but there is more to the power of an image than a person's relative attractiveness.

Jeremy Meeks' mug shot offers us a window into the inner workings of visual communication in the era of the viral star. So, for further context, let's compare Meeks' mug shot to some celebrity booking photos to see what elements of this image have given it so much power.